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Plan To Protect Cal. Gay Adoptions
Mary Ellen Peterson
365Gay.com Newscenter in Los Angeles

(November 19, Sacramento, CA) California Senator John Burton (D-San Francisco) has prepared legislation to protect second-parent adoptions in which a child is adopted by an adult unrelated to the parent of the child.

The adoptions are a tool frequently utilized in families headed by same-sex parents.

"The recent appeals court decision challenging the validity of second-parent adoptions not only causes unnecessary worry for many families, it also undermines the ability of the Department of Social Services to authorize adoptions," Burton said. "This bill will protect the validity of second-parent adoptions authorized by the department and approved by the courts. The protection will apply both to those adoptions that came before the recent appeals court ruling and those that will come after."

The appeals court based its decision on there being no express statutory authority for the Department of Social Services to authorize such adoptions. As a companion to efforts by Assemblymember Carole Migden, Senator Sheila Kuehl and others, Burton's bill makes the appeals decision moot.

Related Article on Courts decision to strike down "2nd Parent Adoptions Invalidated in California". http://tampabaycoalition.homestead.com/files/1030GayAdoptionsJepordizesCA.htm

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